Ten Times Stronger
by sydneyTWD
Summary: Shane meets Kaitlyn, Kaitlyn meets Shane. They were scared to love anyone in this world, fearing that if they lost them, they would shatter. Shane/oc
1. Chapter 1

Kaitlyn Jones groans, as she slams her hand down on the alarm clock, that seems to not be quiet. She flips the covers over her body, as she places her tiny feet onto the cold wood flooring below her, shivering slightly at the new found contact, she saunters over to her wardrobe, pulling out the regular sweats, and worn out t shirt. Before walking into her bathroom, tugging off the sleeping shirt she had been wearing, she tosses it into the laundry basket, the shirt hitting off the soft green walls before actually sliding into the basket. A yawn escapes her pink lips, as she then pulls off her basketball shorts, throwing them in the corner of the new bathroom. Sliding on her new clothes, she sighs in content, before grabbing a brush, and running it through her long blonde hair. The little streaks of brown standing out, she flips her head over, gathering her thick hair, tying it into a bun and leaving it atop of her head. She brushes her teeth, enjoying the mint taste replacing her nasty morning breath, before she grabs her books and heads out the door for another day of college.

~  
Kaitlyn sits down in the rickety old seats the college had supplied for them, hearing the soft murmurs of the new found disease that had been spreading, not only all over the school, but all around the nation, across the seas, _everywhere. _She rolls her blue eyes, thinking it was just some stupid rumor that the news had once again spread. The class becomes quiet, as the teacher speaks up, "Alright, you guys' know the drill, eyes on your own paper." She seems to give every student a glare before her eyes land on Kaitlyn, Ms. Balice smiles softly at the girl, Kaitlyn had always been her favorite student, she loved the fact that she was smart, and was not afraid to show it. Handing out the white test papers to each student, licking her index finger and thumb every now and then, just to get the right grip on the paper, Ms. Balice reaches her favorite student; Kaitlyn snatches the paper from the teachers hand, before averting her eyes to it, licking her bottom lip, she grabs the sharpened pencil beside her.

As Kaitlyn reaches down to write another answer with her perfect hand writing, she hears a vial noise. A groaning noise erupts from a fellow classmates lips'. Kaitlyn rolls her eyes knowing it was just one of the many immature boys in her history class, but boy was she wrong. The student lets out another low groan, Kaitlyn snaps her head back, a horrified expression easily making its way to her face. The boy that she had known as Jace lifts his head up, blood drips out of his mouth, trickling down his now-pale chin, then onto the wooden desk, his eyes a white color, he stands from his desk, as does Kaitlyn, grabbing her backpack as she does so. "What the hell?" She murmurs to herself, he walks towards the boy in front of him, almost as if he had forgotten how to use his body, he leaves his arms in front of him, walking with a limp. The rest of the class watches as the boy sinks his teeth into the students neck, blood spurting every which way, a gasp escapes her lips, as the rest of the class instantly stands up, watching their fellow classmate Jace feast on the innocent boy, they stand in shock, unsure of what to do. Thats when Kaitlyn's senses kick in, and she begins to move her legs, only to run into another Jace- like creature, she quickly dodges it, running into her old pickup, she puts the key in the ignition, before speeding off.

Kaitlyn arrives home, seeing more of the hideous creatures roaming aimlessly around the streets, she's quiet as she hops out of the car, and runs into her house, praying that her parents are okay. She runs into the kitchen, her mother stands so her back is facing Kaitlyn, her brown hair tossed, which was unusual for Kaitlyn's mother, she had always taken great pride in her hair, but in that moment, Kaitlyn didn't mind, she ran to her mother and embraced her, only to hear a much-to familiar groan in her ear. Kaitlyn's eyes widen, as she instantly lets go of her mother, just in time for her to turn around, chomping at Kaitlyn's flesh. Kaitlyn thinks fast, running over to the knife rack, she grabs the biggest and sharpest knife she could find, walking towards her mother, "I'm sorry." She whispers, before driving the knife deep into her mother's brain. Kaitlyn wasn't sure what these creatures were, they looked like something out of a movie, a horror one. Kaitlyn actually loved these creatures, they always gave her a good scare. But Kaitlyn likes them much more when they were in the movie.

Kaitlyn roams her house, desperately trying to find her father, which she does, only to see he is a hideous creature, his orange baseball cap sitting atop of his head, his usual black jeans ripped, blood splattered about them, she gasps, "I love you, daddy." She whispers before jabbing her father in his eye, the groaning subsides. Kaitlyn pulls out her IPhone, pulling out a radio app, "This disease is spreading, and it is spreading rapidly, we have no cure for it currently, please stay with your family." Kaitlyn scoffs, "What family?" She murmurs, fresh tears springing to her eyes. She turns off her phone, running up to her room, angrily wiping the tears that seemed not to stop falling away from her eyes. Grabbing a backpack, she packs clothes, food, and pictures of her and her family, several more tears making their way down her flushed cheeks, she grabs her father's gun, she passes the garbage can as she's walking out of the house, "Won't be needing this." She murmurs, tossing her phone into the trash, before saying a last goodbye and running out the door.

~  
Kaitlyn sighs, drumming her fingers impatiently on her steering wheel, seeing the road in front of her backed up with cars, hearing several beeps of cars, and cussing leaving from peoples' mouths. "C'mon, ya'll got to get movin'!" She hears a heavy southern accent, and snaps her head into the direction, "Merle, I don't need yer' yellin' right now." She rolls her eyes, "Rednecks." She mutters to herself, turning the radio on, listening to the several voices of the radio explaining what is happening. She closes her eyes, that just so happen to be red from crying, rubbing her temples, the people are describing the creatures as zombies. That's what she would call them, _zombies. _Never in a million years could Kaitlyn even think of something so bizarre to happening. She opens her eyes once more, frowning at the scene in front of her, dead bodies lay almost right next to her car, causing her to gag. Kaitlyn sees others getting out of their cars as she decides to do the same, standing awkwardly next to her large truck. She watches as families hug one-another, children crying holding onto their mother or father for dear life. She feels a soft tap on her shoulder, and instantly turns around, being her paranoid self.

She's met with big brown eyes, and scans over the man, his eyes matching his curly tousled chocolate brown hair. His nose that almost looks broken, but suits the man just fine, he sends her a crooked grin, as he sees she looks scared, "I'm deputy Shane Walsh." He sticks out his large hand, Kaitlyn keeps a stone face, sliding her petite hand into his, "Kaitlyn Jones."


	2. Chapter 2

Shane Walsh shakes Kaitlyn's petite hand, as he takes in her appearance; Shane thought she was stunning, beautiful, gorgeous. Her long blond hair reaches her mid back, the little freckles scattered along her face, all along her nose. The T shirt she was wearing didn't do much for her body, but Shane knew she was curvacious, this was a big turn on for Shane, and if the world hadn't gone to complete hell he would probably flirt with her. But it was different now. Girls always came easy for Shane Walsh, he was like a cat longing for milk, if you wanted a simple fuck buddy, all you had to do was tap him on the shoulder. Shane smirks, his eyes firmly planted on her large chest, this causes Kaitlyn to scoff, crossing her arms, "Pig." she mutters. Shane lets out a chuckle, "Darlin' I took a look in your vehicle, seems you're traveling alone? That can't be too safe." Shane sends a wink in her way, though as most girls would blush and giggle, Kaitlyn's face stayed hard, "I can manage." She speaks firmly. Shane smiles, "You could join my group and I, a pretty little thing like you can't handle all of this." Kaitlyn gawks at the man; rolling her eyes, she opens her mouth, "As refreshingly sexist as that is, I think I'll just stay on my own." She turns around to go grab the handle of her door, only to be stopped by the hands of Shane, "Please, it would make me feel better, knowin' that one more person in this crazy world was safe." Kaitlyn had always been known for being a smart ass, and it took every fiber in her being not to have a sarcastic remark to fire back at Shane. She closes her eyes temporarily, before sighing, "You lead the way." She opens her eyes, meeting Shane's, a smile spreads across the southern man's face. "Alright, darlin'." Shane hops into his car, after helping Kaitlyn into hers, Lori instantly smiling his way, Shane smiles back before yelling out the car window, to the several cars that were behind him- the group, "Follow me!" He doesn't wait for an answer, as he drives off the road, into the grass.

Kaitlyn follows Shane's smaller car, a knot in her stomach, fearing she might have to run into one of those hideous creatures yet again. She pulls the car to a stop, once Shane does, the several cars behind her doing the same. Kaitlyn hops out of her pickup, walking awkwardly over to Shane's car. He gets out, and smiles at her. Lori Grimes, currently wife of Rick Grimes gets out from the small car, grabbing her child Carl Grimes- the sight of the child causes Kaitlyn's face to instantly brighten- she always loved children. Shane notices this and smirks at her, Carl approaches the girl shyly, "I'm Carl." Kaitlyn grins, as the little boy speaks, "I'm Kaitlyn, but please call me Katie." Her grin turns into a soft smile, wrapping her small hand around Carl's even smaller hand she gives it a small shake. Lori grabs her son's shoulder, yanking him back gently, "Lori." She smiles at the young girl, hugging her tightly, Kaitlyn sighs hugging back.

By now, Kaitlyn had met everyone; Merle, Daryl, Glenn, Lori, Jaqui, Carl, Carol, Ed, their daughter Sophia, Dale, Andrea, Amy, Morales, and his family, can't forget Shane. Shane soon orders everyone to go off, and set up their tents, as everyone leaves, Kaitlyn stands there, scratching at the back of her neck, "No tent?" Shane's southern drawl pulls Kaitlyn closer to him, she shakes her head no, "Looks like you'll be bunkin' with me." Kaitlyn sighs, but nods as she follows Shane into the deserted woods in front of them, no matter how quiet, or isolated they were Kaitlyn wouldn't feel safe, not with those _creatures_lurking around.

Not long after setting up tents they were all sitting around a fairly small fire, they all stay silent, finally letting it sink in that the world they had once lived in has gone to complete shit. Kaitlyn stares blankly at the fire, watching the embers glow in the night, a single tear pricks at her eye, thinking about what she had to do to her parents not much earlier, she quickly blinks it away, _If they see me cry, they'll think I'm weak_ she thinks to herself, pulling her jacket closer to her body, the woman that she had remembered as Carol takes a seat next to her, "Honey, why don't you eat, Daryl went hunting when we got here, and you look upset." Kaitlyn sends a weak smile toward the woman, "Thank you, but I'm not really hungry." She whispers, Carol nods understandingly, giving Kaitlyn a quick squeeze, before returning to her smaller campfire of three. Kaitlyn listens to the people around her tell the stories of how they found out about this whole thing, _They had it much worse then I did_she once again thinks to herself. She looks at Lori and Carl with sympathy as Lori explains how her husband had been in a coma while this was happening. A frown makes its way to Kaitlyn's face, watching a single tear roll down Carl's cheek, his mother quickly wiping it away, "It'll be okay, baby." Lori gently whispers into the child's ear, Carl nods with no emotion.

Kaitlyn silently waits in the tent for Shane, but decides to change as he was not in the tent currently, sliding out of her t shirt, she throws her sleeping shirt on, Shane walking in just as it slips over her head. She quickly pulls it down, the blood easily making its way to her cheeks, Shane smirks, "Now, darlin' no need ta' be blushin' not like I haven't seen a girl in her undergarments before." He ends his sentence with a wink, before he throws his shirt off, revealing his tanned, toned chest in front of Kaitlyn's eyes. Her eyes glue to his 'God Like' body, before she averts them to the floor of the tent, Shane smiles, before laying down on the padded sleeping bag, patting the other one beside him, his eyes meet Kaitlyn's. She awkwardly sits next to him, laying her head on the pillow, closing her eyes. Sleep didn't come easy to her that night.

Kaitlyn is awoken by a almost silenced scream, but it is loud enough for Kaitlyn to hear, she grabs the hunting knife beside her, silently unzipping the tent, she walks out. A walker stand no more than three feet away from the child who she remembered as Sophia. Crouching down slightly, she approaches the creature; the gargles get closer, the more she moves, she acts fast once she sees the walker reaching out for Sophia, speeding up, she digs her knife into the top of the walker's head, smirking as she did so. Blood sputters upon her face, but she's smart enough not to let it get into her mouth or eyes. Once the creature drops to the floor, Kaitlyn pulls the knife from the walker's head, wiping it on his plaid ripped shirt, before turning to Sophia, who stands petrified before her, "You alright, hon?" She whispers, quickly moving in front of the small girl, kneeling Kaitlyn lays her hands on either side of the child's face, checking over for any scratches, "Yeah." Sophia whispers, smiling at the young woman standing before her, "Lets get you back to your ma." Kaitlyn takes Sophia's hand in hers, walking to the tent in which her parent's rest, Sophia places a single kiss on Kaitlyn's cheek before walking into the tent, zipping it up. Kaitlyn quietly walks back to her dark green tent, making sure not to make much noise.

Kaitlyn walks into the tent, turning around to zip it closed, "Where were you?" The voice of none other than Shane Walsh frightens her, unsure of to tell Shane what she had just done or not, Kaitlyn makes up a small lie, "I had to pee..." She looks into his deep brown eyes, giggling slightly, he only smiles, yawning, he pulls Kaitlyn's petite body into his, whispering a single "Goodnight." Before shutting his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Shane Walsh opens his eyes, not hearing the usual chirping of the birds. He frowns, sighing knowing everything that went down yesterday wasn't a dream, he looks down to Kaitlyn, the girl's head lays on his bare chest,

snoring softly. He smirks before gently shaking her awake, her eyes open, a blush instantly making an appearance to her slightly tanned cheeks, "C'mon." The dark- haired man mumbles, pushing her gently off of him. Kaitlyn sighs, she knows it isn't like it used to be; waking up at noon, only having a few chores. Those times were long gone, and if she wanted to stay here, she knew she would have to begin contributing. Shane throws on a shirt, looking at Kaitlyn with longing eyes, she huffs, before shooing him out of the small tent, he grunts before walking out into the sunshine. Kaitlyn rummages through her Jansport backpack, humming slightly, she grabs simple clothes- easy to move around in, of course. She sneaks the caliber 44, sticking it into the waist band of her shorts, the cold metal making her shiver slightly. She takes the hunting knife, carefully sticking it into the back of her shorts, before also walking out of the tent. She smiles as Carl runs up to her, "Can you take me down to the woods, Kaitlyn? Please?" He begs, she smiles slightly, "Is that alright with your mom?" Kaitlyn ruffles Carl's hair, she looks up at Lori, as she walks toward her son. "Hey, mom, would it be okay if Kaitlyn took me down to the woods?" Lori sighs, nodding before kissing his forehead, "Don't roam away from her, alright?" Carl nods, before walking back over to Kaitlyn who sends a smile toward the child's mother, "Be careful, please." Kaitlyn nods, as does Carl.

Kaitlyn grabs Carl's shoulder softly, as they walk down the disheveled ground to the woods, making sure the small child doesn't fall. As Kaitlyn had did to Carl, a hand grabs her shoulder, Kaitlyn's eyes widen, as she turns around, pulling the knife she presses it to the neck of what she thought would be one of the horrible creatures. "Whoa!" The man she had shared a tent with brings his hand to Kaitlyn's wrist, pushing it to her side, "It's just me." Shane warns, smiling slightly, "I was just wonderin' where you and Carl were off to." He brings a rough hand to Carl's brown hair, ruffling it. "Kaitlyn's taking me to the woods!" The boy exclaims excitedly, Shane raises an eyebrow, "Alone?" He averts his chocolate eyes to Kaitlyn's blue ones, she nods, Shane scoffs, "We don't travel alone. We travel in pairs." He states firmly, "Let me just grab my gun." He turns around quickly, Kaitlyn knew it was the best thing to do, traveling in pairs. The brown haired man returns shortly after, smiling, "Go on, we're watchin' ya." He winks at Carl, who turns around to head into the woods.

"So.." Shane try's to make conversation, as he and Kaitlyn intently watch Carl walk in front of them. "What were you doin' before all this shit happened?" Shane chuckled softly, turning his head slightly to catch a glimpse of Kaitlyn, who had her gaze firmly planted on the child in front of them, "I was studying to be an anesthesiologist in college." She mutters, Shane sticks his bottom lip out nodding, an impressed look on his tan face. His gaze stays upon Kaitlyn's face, watching a look of horror flash on it, he looks at how quickly she grabs the handgun from her shorts, pointing it, he follows to where the gun is pointing, a walker stays in front of Carl, Shane's eyes widen, as he grabs his shotgun, but hears two shots go off, he watches the creature drop to the floor, Kaitlyn slips the gun back into her pants, rushing over to Carl, she grabs his small frame, hugging him. The young boy sobs into her shoulder, as if he had finally realized this would be a normal thing for them, "Sh..." Kaitlyn soothes the boy, petting his hair, "It's all alright." Shane watches with sad eyes, walking over to the two hugging, he gets on his knees beside them, wrapping his muscular arms around the two bodies.

The three finally arrive to camp, watching as Carl runs to his mother, he embraces her tightly, a single tear slipping from his eye. Lori averts her gaze to Shane, giving him an appointed look. The dark-haired man shrugs, before walking off to do "Man Stuff" as he would describe it. Kaitlyn walks over to the two family members, Lori smiles at her son, wiping away a tear, before telling him to go play with Sophia. Lori waits until her child is out of ear shot before she speaks, "Mind explaining what happened with my son?" She hisses at the younger woman in front of her, "Ran into a walker." Kaitlyn mumbles, Lori sighs, rubbing her hands over her face, "But, it didn't touch him!" Kaitlyn says quickly, putting a comforting hand on the shaking woman's shoulder, to which Lori brushes off, "No child should have to live in this world." She mutters before walking to follow her kid. Kaitlyn sighs, frowning, she completely agreed with Lori.

~

The adults watch the young children closely as they all eat quietly, Shane walks over, his combat boots making the leaves below him crinkle, the whole group turns toward the man, feeling slightly alarmed. He does nothing but smile sheepishly, as he takes a seat next to Kaitlyn, turning his head toward her, he smiles, to which she returns. Lori Grimes watches the two people interact, her gaze never leaving the two. "I think we should head into tha city." The man whom they learned was Merle spoke, Shane nods next to Kaitlyn, "We can't be riskin' the whole group." Shane points out, they nod, "I'm in." The dark-skinned man speaks up, as does Andrea, her younger sister gives her a look, Kaitlyn knew they'd be speaking later. Glenn, Jaqui, and Merle also decide to go. Shane nods, curtly, "So, we'll head out tomorrow." T-dog confirms, "Probably should be getting some sleep, then." Glenn yawns, "I'll take watch." The oldest man, Dale offers, "I'll help ya." The heavy southern accent that belongs to Daryl Dixon speaks quietly. Lori sits up from the log they had been seated at, "I'm gonna go put Carl to sleep." She mumbles, walking off to the two children, grabbing Carl, Carol gets up, going to grab her daughter. Mumbling a quick, "Goodnight," As she does so. The young girl Amy also gets up, grabbing everyone's plates, "Thank you." Kaitlyn smiles, as the young girl takes her plate, Kaitlyn shivers slightly, as she does so. "Cold?" Shane's rough voice speaks into her ear, she nods, "C'mon then." He mumbles, grabbing her forearm gently, "Goodnight, everyone." Kaitlyn says sweetly, earning a clutter of "Goodnight" or "G'night." As the two huddle off to their tent.

"I don't know how you're not freezing." Kaitlyn's teeth clatter together as she watches Shane slip off his shirt, "It's'a gift." He smirks, tossing the shirt he had been wearing in Kaitlyn's face, the girl rolls her eyes, peeling the cloth material from her body, tossing it into the corner of the small tent. She turns around, rummaging into her backpack, pulling out a fuzzy crew neck sweater, slipping it over the clothes she had already been wearing. Slipping the jean shorts down her long, tan legs, she kicks them to where Shane's shirt lay, grabbing a pair of sweatpants, she slides them up to her waist, securing them with the small tie. Shane smirks, sitting on his sleeping bag, Kaitlyn awkwardly lays down onto hers, pulling the one blanket over her small frame, she shivers, facing the opposite way from the young man. Kaitlyn hears the deep chuckle of Shane, his muscular arms wrap around her small waist, his hot breath steady on her neck, he pulls the covers over himself. Smirking slightly, he places his head into the crook of Kaitlyn's neck, he gently places a kiss to the skin, letting his lips linger there for a good minute, before detaching them. He kisses the skin of her revealed shoulder, causing Kaitlyn to shiver slightly. He places a last kiss to the back of her ear, before whispering a single, "Goodnight." His hot breath eventually lulling Kaitlyn into a peaceful rest, something she was in desperate need of.


End file.
